A series of fires in the 200 block of West Lanvale Street, seemingly caused by an electric power surge or other electrical aberrations, has left a family homeless and others on edge. BGE says it is working hard to figure out what happened.
Jamie Morganstern, his wife, Sara Serino, two children, and dog have lived in the block for 7 years. He said that on Aug. 25, “our home was catastrophically damaged by an electrical fire. At least 15 of our neighbors experienced small fires of their own and saw dozens of electronics and appliances destroyed.” He said he was told it could take a year for their home to be restored and made livable.
A spokesman for BGE said they were investigating. Preliminarily, BGE reported that a neutral electrical cable that should have been hooked up was missing.
Speaking at the BHCA September meeting, Morganstern said he received “a 6:50 a.m. text from my wife saying the power was out in half the house. By 7 a.m., neighbors were reporting strange smells and smoke. When I spoke with a BGE crew member on-site around 8 a.m., I was told it was likely a neutral line failure and would be resolved by 10 a.m. Around 10, a neighbor told me the power had briefly come back on, then failed again. At 10:30, I got the call: our house was on fire.”
He said at least 15 neighbors experienced small fires and saw dozens of electronics and appliances destroyed by what he said was a power surge. The surge also affected Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church and the Bolton Hill Nursery. No children were in the nursery school at the time, but the school lost an industrial-sized washing machine, laptops and other electronics. BGE sent three representatives to the BHCA meeting to meet with the families.
“Our family and our neighbors are angry and scared. No one knows if their house might ignite next. This is not something that can or will be quietly set aside. We are asking BGE for a clear explanation of what happened, a fair resolution for the families affected, and a concrete plan of action to prevent this from happening again,” Morganstern added.
In a letter to BHCA President Lee Tawney on Sept. 3, BGE’s William R. Ellis said: “Following the recent identification and replacement of a missing electrical cable, BGE crews and leadership conducted additional testing throughout the community. Those assessments confirmed voltage levels at key equipment are all within specified and acceptable ranges.”
Ellis said BGE has installed power quality monitors in the neighborhood to evaluate voltage and current readings for the rest of September. BGE, he said, also may use radio frequency interference (RFI) detection to identify potential equipment degradation and determine whether accelerated replacement is needed. (RFI, also called electromagnetic interference, can disrupt cell phone, Internet and other electronic devices.) He said BGE also may deploy drones to support its investigation. He promised an update by the end of the month.
